Flash One Shots
by OliviaR5Warbler
Summary: A series of one shots inspired by the TV series the Flash Please feel free to submit any requests :) I'm always happy to give it a go, (even the naughty ones ;) ) please no WestAllen romances, I like them as friends and siblings but not as a couple, thank you (Rating may change)
1. Hero

A little SnowBarry one shot I wrote hope you guys like it.

Prompt: Hero

It's a little over a year since they met that Iris finally convinces Barry and his friends to come out to a Karaoke bar with herself and Eddie. Only Caitlin had been hesitant, Cisco was ready for pretty much anything when it came to a night out and Barry was just happy to be able to spend time with the people he loved and cared for. Iris had sung many times during the three hours they had been in the bar, Eddie had sung twice at her request and puppy eyes, Barry sang a few songs but he only put one in for himself, the others had been put in by his friends after hearing his amazing voice. Cisco had only sung once as an attempt to flirt with a girl, it seemed to work until her boyfriend turned up and promptly escorted her away from the bar. Caitlin had yet to sing, she could in fact sing quite well but only Cisco knew about her voice and was wisely keeping his mouth shut… That was until Iris asked their opinions on whether she should sing _Hero_ by Enrique Iglesias Cisco piped up with "Oh my God, you have to hear Caitlin sing that, she sounds amazing."

"Cisco," she whispered irritably.

"Sorry," he mumbled remembering why she used to love singing that song feeling pretty guilty.

"Caitlin you should totally sing it, you haven't sung all night," Iris told her already writing the slip out.

"Iris no, I really don't want to sing anything, least of all that song." She attempted to sway Iris with no success.

"Come on Caitlin, you can't sound any worse than that last pair," Eddie told her. Barry remained silent through the exchange watching as Caitlin grew increasingly distressed by the pressure from Iris.

"What do you think Barry?" Iris said giving him a look that dared him to argue with her.

"Actually, Iris, if she doesn't want to you can't make her sing it," he told her then he repented, "sure I'd love to hear it but it's her decision," he said quickly taking the slip of paper from her hands.

"Thank you," Caitlin mumbled softly beside him in the booth. "I'm gonna get another drink," she excused herself.

"Me too," he said shooting Iris a warning as he saw her reach for another slip of paper. "Are you alright?" He asked as they reached the bar and waited for service.

"Yeah, thank you for defending me."

"Don't worry. Iris means well but obviously she's not too good with boundaries."

"I'm guessing you want to know why I won't sing."

"Well yes, but unlike Iris I'm not gonna push," Barry told her.

"Thank you." He ordered and paid for the drinks, despite her protests and they returned to the table, Iris was on stage singing again and Eddie apologized for her behaviour.

"Would you at least sing something? Just to keep her quiet?" Barry whispered as Iris sat down. Caitlin waited for Iris to go for another drink before leafing through the book of available songs handing one in. When her turn came Iris looked on excitedly hoping she had given in to sing the Enrique song, much to her disappointment. Caitlin sang _Here Comes the Sun_ to which she received a standing ovation from her table of friends making her leave the stage with her cheeks stained by blushing.

"Oh my gosh, Caitlin that was amazing" Iris told her excitedly, "you were even better than Barry," she said, not something she had ever said before nor something she had ever expected to say. "You two should sing something together," she said before she could help herself.

"No, Iris-"

"How come? What's the matter Barry afraid I'll be better at something?" She laughed as did Cisco remembering their constant battles over the children's game _Operation_.

"Are you challenging me Snow?"

"Maybe I am Allen," she joked and he held out a slip of paper to Cisco who wrote out the slip before handing it in, not letting either of them see the song he had chosen. They talked and joked as a table until their names were called out and they walked onto the small stage, facing the screen and the music began. They both recognized the song and glared at Cisco who laughed.

(**Barry**/ _Caitlin_/ _**Both**_)

**You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you.  
>I picked you out, I shook you up<br>And turned you around, turned you into someone new.**

**Now five years later on you've got the world at your feet.**  
><strong>Success has been so easy for you.<strong>  
><strong>But don't forget it's me who put you where you are now,<strong>  
><strong>And I can put you back there too.<strong>

**Don't, don't you want me?**  
><strong>You know I can't believe it<strong>  
><strong>When I hear that you won't see me.<strong>  
><strong>Don't, don't you want me?<strong>  
><strong>You know I don't believe you<strong>  
><strong>When you say that you don't need me.<strong>  
><strong>It's much too late to find<strong>  
><strong>When you think you've changed your mind.<strong>  
><strong>You'd better change it back or we will both be sorry.<strong>  
><strong>Don't you want me, baby?<strong>  
><strong>Don't you want me, oh?<strong>  
><strong>Don't you want me, baby?<strong>  
><strong>Don't you want me, oh?<strong>

_I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar,  
>That much is true.<br>But even then I knew I'd find a much better place  
>Either with or without you.<em>

_The five years we have had have been such good times,_  
><em>I still love you.<em>  
><em>But now I think it's time I live my life on my own.<em>  
><em>I guess it's just what I must do.<em>

_Don't, don't you want me?_  
><em>You know I can't believe it<em>  
><em>When I hear that you won't see me.<em>  
><em>Don't, don't you want me?<em>  
><em>You know I don't believe you<em>  
><em>When you say that you don't need me.<em>  
><em>It's much too late to find<em>  
><em>When you think you've changed your mind.<em>  
><em>You'd better change it back or we will both be sorry.<em>  
><em>Don't you want me, baby?<em>  
><em>Don't you want me, oh?<em>  
><em>Don't you want me, baby?<em>  
><em>Don't you want me, oh?<em>

**Don't you want me, baby?  
>Don't you want me, oh?<br>**_Don't you want me, baby?  
>Don't you want me, oh?<br>__**Don't you want me, baby?  
>Don't you want me, oh?<br>Don't you want me, baby?  
>Don't you want me, oh?<br>**_**Don't you want me, baby?  
>Don't you want me, oh?<strong>  
><em>Don't you want me, baby?<br>Don't you want me, oh?  
><em>_**Don't you want me, baby?**_

They stepped off of the stage grinning as the other bar-goers applauded. "You guys were totally amazing," Iris told them.

"Definitely, nice one Allen," Eddie said as they gathered their things as they were in Starling City rather than Central City (Iris argued it was a better bar) and they had to catch their train home.

"Oh and Cisco, clearly that song is more for Oliver and Felicity but nice job." Barry told him.

The STAR Labs crew sat in one set of four seats and Iris and Eddie sat across the aisle in the other four seats facing each other. The couple got off first, to go to their apartment leaving Barry, Caitlin and Cisco. After getting off of the train Cisco walked one way and the other two the other to go to their respective homes. They paused outside of Caitlin's apartment building just standing together. "Thank you for convincing me to go out tonight, I haven't had that much fun since before the accident."

"Don't worry about it; I'm glad you had fun."

"I never knew how much I missed singing."

"Missed it?"

"Singing reminded me of Ronnie, he used to sing all the time around the apartment, it's so quiet recently but I can't usually bring myself to fill that silence."

"Is that why you didn't want to sing that first song?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds silly but that was our song."

"I don't think it's silly at all." She felt his hand take hers gently and they smiled at each other.

"I know it's late but do you want to come in for a drink?"

"I'd love to." She let them in and they called the elevator as she lived pretty high up, they stood either side of the small elevator, Caitlin bit her lip, she was having doubts and feeling foolish. Barry saw her face and reached out to stroke her cheek, bringing their lips together. The sparks flew inside of their heads as she allowed herself to be drawn closer to his body, bracing her hands on his shoulders. If it hadn't been for the quiet ding they wouldn't have noticed the lift coming to a halt and made their way to her place.

Inside Caitlin's apartment they removed their coats and she pulled him to kiss her again, at some point they had sat on her couch and he pulled back as things began to get heated. "Wait, Caitlin, are you sure you're OK with this, I mean you've been drinking and I don't want to screw things up between us."

"Why would they get screwed up?"

"Because I'm not Ronnie." He said it before he could stop himself and she abruptly stopped kissing his jaw. "I really like you Caitlin but I'm not him and I don't want you to get hurt… I should go-"

"No" Caitlin said firmly. "No you aren't Ronnie but you are Barry Allen the man I've been hopelessly drawn to since I Dr. Wells had you brought to STAR Labs. You're the guy who was hit by lightning, the guy who I had to watch two other prettier girls fawn over while I took care of you. I haven't wanted Ronnie in so long and Barry it's because of you."

"You're wrong," he said after a pause. "OK Iris and Felicity are pretty but they aren't a beautiful as you," he smiled softly stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"It's late, we should get some sleep." She said pulling back and standing when she offered her hand which he looked at confused. "Well I don't expect you to leave; I'd never be able to look the night staff in the eye again if they caught you leaving now." Barry took her hand and they went to her bedroom, she changed in the bathroom and he stripped to his boxer-shorts and t-shirt. He let her get in first and laid beside her as she shuffled closer, lay on her side and placed an arm over him. "Good night Barry."

"'Night Caitlin."

As her eyes closed she mumbled something else which Barry would always swear she had said "thank you for being my hero."


	2. One or the Other

**_Hi all so my prompt today was a peice of dialogue from a friend I live with at the moment:_**  
><strong><em>"You're the man in Yellow"<em>**

**_Hope you like it please let me know and send in a request if you have one :)_**

"You really have to be more careful Barry," Caitlin said through her teeth as she prepared to re-break his wrist in order to set it properly, "inhal-"

"Ahh!"

"You aren't invincible," she continued to reprimand him.

"I said I'm sorry Caitlin there isn't much more I can do, it's dangerous, and I'm going to get hurt from time to time."

"You have been hurt every time you've fought this guy in yellow Barry; you need to remember he's faster and stronger at the moment."

"I'm trying Caitlin and please don't remind me." He said bitterly, he wasn't in a fabulous mood to begin with so being told off like he was a child was not improving things.

"We've been over this Barry, you need to b-"

"Caitlin please, just quit telling me off, I get it I'm not invincible, I'm not as good as the man in yellow and for love of god nothing is going to happen to me any time soon, I'm not Ronnie so stop being so freaking protective and anal about things every time I get hurt." He snapped immediately regretting what he had said when he saw the hurt he just caused. "Caitlin I-"

"Just leave it Barry," she said, tears welling up in her eyes as she walked hastily out of the med-bay. Barry dragged his good hand over his face, he'd have to make it up to her another time, he sighed pushing himself off of the bed to see Cisco in the doorway.

"You heard?"

"Hard not too buddy." He said sadly.

"Dr Wells isn't around is he?"

"No he went to meet a friend or something, just me. Come on, let's have a game, take your mind off of things." Barry nodded following him out into the main area to the ping pong table.

Caitlin went to the ladies room to clean her face where her make-up had run and to calm down. As far as she knew nobody else ever came to this corridor because the men's bathroom was in the other direction so it came as a shock to her that when she leant on a panel of the wall she fell through it. "Ow," she muttered picking herself up off of the floor taking in her surroundings. She'd never seen this room before and attentively looked around. It was pretty bare, white walls and a podium in the middle of the room with a few buttons. She wondered what this room could have been used for in the old days. Even though she knew better she cautiously ran her fingers over the keypad on the podium and it lit up as did the wall she was facing. "What is this place?" She mumbled and turned sharply as a panel of the wall behind her slid open. Edging towards it she gasped as she saw the yellow suit of the other speedster on a dummy, "oh my God," she said turning to run and get the others when she came face to face with Dr Wells. "Dr Wells thank God, this room just opened and I found the yellow suit, like Barry's…"

"I see and where were you about to run off to Caitlin?" He asked wheeling closer.

"T-to get you, Cisco and Barry…" She stammered backing up.

"I'm afraid not Caitlin you see I'm afraid you aren't going anywhere," to her shock he pushed himself out of his wheelchair and was suddenly at her side.

"You're the man in yellow," she said frightened backing away.

"Yes, I am and you are my hostage." He said and suddenly her wrists were bound and she was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, her mouth covered and Dr. Wells was gone from sight, the room dark once again.

Barry let out a frustrated sigh as Cisco scored another point; he had yet to score one. "What's the matter with you Barry?"

"I guess I just feel really bad for shouting at Caitlin, it's knocking me off my game, I gotta find her and apologize." As he left the room he ran into Wells. "Dr. Wells, have you seen Caitlin?"

"Um yeah she passed me on my way back in, she looked a little upset but didn't stop when I asked what was wrong," he said innocently.

"I have to go find her," Barry said, "where do you think she'd have gone?" He asked aimed at Cisco.

"If I had to say I'd go with her apartment or Ronnie's grave."

"OK, see you later."

"Barry wai-" _whoosh_ Dr. Wells was too late, he was gone.

He stopped at the graveyard first as it was on the way to her place, the place was empty and quiet eager to apologize he moved on, heading to her apartment. To his dismay it was locked and she didn't answer when he called out to her. Deciding he could have passed her or she could have gone somewhere else he decided to sit and wait leaving reluctantly when Joe called him in for a case.

"You OK Barry?"

"I hurt Caitlin's feelings really bad today but I can't find her to apologize, she left the labs and hasn't gone home."

"Sometimes girls just need time, she'll be OK but for now, we got a murder and need our CSI."

"OK, let me take a look," he sighed pulling on his black latex gloves and getting to work. After returning to his own lab he sent a text as a last resort to Caitlin apologizing for what he had said. He never got a reply. When he returned home he tried calling her but it rang and rang until going to voicemail. "Caitlin please, I'm so sorry I shouldn't have said those things, please text me, I'm really sorry…" Hanging up he showered and went to bed, emotionally and physically drained.

Caitlin sat against the wall in the dark, her wrists bound and her mouth gagged, Wells had brought her a drink she assumed after Barry and Cisco had left, she knew it was dangerous to trust him but she had drank what he offered, knowing that whatever he was keeping her for he needed her alive otherwise she'd already be dead. She didn't know what time it was or how long she had been there but she assumed morning had arrived when Wells arrived with a slice of bread and a bottle of water which he fed her. He re-gagged her and left in the wheelchair.

Barry arrived at STAR Labs and headed to run on the treadmill, expecting Caitlin to be back to her old self and demanding tests but she wasn't. Cisco was working on one of his toys, "have you seen Caitlin?"

"Not since she left yesterday, I tried calling but her phone was dead it went to voicemail," Cisco told him.

"Yeah I got the same thing," Barry said, "I'm getting worried Cisco."

"Me too, but we have to give her space." Barry nodded his agreement and went back to do his run.

The situation remained unchanged over the next two days. Both boys attempted contact with Caitlin with no success, Caitlin remained in Wells' secret room and the Reverse Flash had been causing havoc around Central City. She was still missing and the boys were very close to calling the police…

Cisco was working late in the lab keeping an eye on the City at night when the monitors started going haywire. He tried calling Dr Wells but he received no answer so he called in Barry. Barry arrived at STAR Labs minutes later the screens still not showing what they should. "Have you tried Wells?"

"Yeah nothing, this is hopeless, nothing is working." Suddenly the screens went black and a yellow blur ran across the screen a few times before stopping, blurring his face.

"_Nice to see you again Mr Allen, it's time to settle things once and for all, don't bother with a trace because you won't get one in time be at this address in an hour or you'll be too late to save your friend here…" _He moved aside and a light shone on someone tied to a chair, it was Caitlin, "_I'd be quick if you want to see her again, she won't be here for long."_ A timer flashed onto the screen, counting down an hour, under it was an address.

"He's got Caitlin, get the screens back on if you can and tell me where I'm going."

"Got it and Barry," he turned to face Cisco, "bring her back." Barry nodded his word before changing into his suit and leaving in a flash. The next time Cisco spoke to him it was through the com system. "_OK it looks like an old warehouse about 10 miles out of Central City; it used to be used for storage for the aquarium."_ He explained.

"Used to be?"

"_The centre was pretty much destroyed the night the particle accelerator exploded, they were kinda having a charity gala and explosion, glass, fish with big teeth and so on."_

"Cisco get to the point."

"_Oh right, one main entrance, all above ground storage, I've got a heat satellite up and there's one consistent, I'm assuming it's Caitlin because it hasn't moved once. The other just looks like pacing, but fast that's our guy, you can do this Barry, I'll be listening but the screens are playing up again."_

"OK," Barry stopped, the warehouse in his eyeline, inhaling deeply he arrived at the entrance, the doors were wide open and the whole place was dimly light. His eyes settled on Caitlin and he sped over to her, ripping the cover from her mouth.

"Barry-"

"Caitlin are you OK?"

"Barry go, just get out of here, it's Dr Wells, he's the man in yellow."

"What?" Barry halted his attempts to untie the ropes binding her hands.

"Barry you have to get out of here."

"Not without you-"

"How sweet of you Barry, noble in fact," a voice from behind Caitlin said and Dr. Wells walked forward, wearing the yellow suit with the hood down. "But I'm afraid you aren't taking her anywhere, you have a choice to make."

"What choi-" The air whipped around him and Caitlin was gone and Wells stood before him alone.

"Where is she? What have you done with her?"

"She's safe for the next minute, but here's the thing a minute is how long it takes for me to reach the speed in order to break the time barrier and reach exactly 16 years ago today, remember what happened then Barry?" Barry remembered perfectly, that was the day that his mother was murdered. Murdered by a man in yellow. Murdered by Dr. Harrison Wells. "Make your choice Barry you can save Caitlin or you can follow me and attempt to save your mother but know this, you can't save both." Suddenly Wells was gone and Barry opened up the coms.

"Cisco your trackers, open the programme and find one in the area, I planted one on Caitlin before he took her."

"_Got it, she's in the old Aquarium."_

"Which way?"

"_A mile east. Alright I'm pulling up the blueprints of that place, three floors in the centre there's a really deep pool, the one that smashed in the explosion, the place was cleared out but satellite shows earlier today and over the last week tankers have been arriving with water, lots and lots of water."_

"OK I'm almost there," Barry said as it came into sight.

"_OK heat signal, three floors up, the feeding platform. The signals are consistent, it's Caitlin."_

"Call Felicity, get her to calculate how fast I need to run to break the time barrier, Wells can reach it in a minute, once Caitlin is safe I'm going after him."

"On it."

_The Arrow Cave…_

Felicity was watching Oliver on the Salmon Ladder when she got an incoming call on the desk phone. "Hello?" She said dreamier than she cared to admit.

"_Felicity we have an emergency, are you busy?" She looked over at Oliver and turned away._

"No I'm not busy, what's up?"

"_Hypothetically how fast would Barry have to run to travel back in time?"_

"Um, fracking fast, why?"

"_I don't have time to explain, just please, Caitlin is… not available, we need to know."_

"OK, how fast can he run currently?"

_The Aquarium…_

Caitlin's wrists were bound but she was free from the chair to which she had been tied, she had been left on the old feeding platform of the aquarium. This tank used to hold all the deep sea creatures now she knew it held nothing but three stories of icy water. Before he had left her there, through the glass she had seen Wells push a button and the platform was slowly receding back into the wall, she would drown without use of her arms, she could kick for so long but the cold would cause her body to shut down and be exhausted. Too exhausted to go on. And she would eventually drown. Her back was currently against the wall with less than a foot between her and the icy depths. Tears were sliding down her face because she knew the choice Wells had offered and she knew that Barry would not save her, Barry Allen the fastest man alive, the man she was sure she loved, the first person since Ronnie that made her truly happy, would not save her, he would follow Wells back in time and save his mother.

A loud smashing sound startled her making her whip around just to see Barry standing outside of the reinforced glass doors before she fell backwards into the water. He saw her surface, coughing and spluttering, finding the control panel to open the door he smashed it and the door released, not needing to think about what he was doing he dove in face first as she began to tire and sinking deeper into the water. The icy water felt like he was being stabbed all over even in the suit, which was probably just a fraction of how she felt, he seized her upper arm and started to swim upwards to the surface. He ripped apart the restraints on her wrist and instructed her to hold on to him while he climbed out. She held on severely weakened as he carried her away from the edge and laid her down, holding her up. "Caitlin, speak to me, please," he begged, pushing her heavy wet hair from her face.

"B-B-Barry," she shivered, "you came after me?"

"Of course I did Caitlin," he said, tears welling up in his eyes. "I love you, I really do and I'm so sorry about what I said it was out of line and I-" she cut him off by kissing him briefly.

"I know. I'm sorry for telling you off all the time, I just worry and care about you." He hugged her tighter, she's shivering badly. Suddenly there was a crash behind them; they turned to see Ronnie staring at them. "Ronnie-"

"What happened?" He asked making it to them in record time, Barry explained it to him and they began to feel warmth radiating from him. "I can control it for the most part," he told them. Barry jumped as he heard Cisco's voice coming back through the coms.

"_Barry Felicity worked it out that you need to run over 900 miles an hour to the West. That should take you to the same place as Wells."_

"Alright, Ronnie keep her safe until that ambulance arrives."

"Where are you going?"

"To stop Wells,-"

"_But Barry, I've run the numbers a hundred times over, there's no guarantee you'll make it back,"_ Felicity chimed tuning into the com channel.

"I have to try-"

"Ah-" Caitlin cried out with pain as did Cisco.

"What's happening?"

"_If I'm correct and I hope I am so wrong Wells isn't just killing your mother, I think he's killing your team so there are no witnesses when he returns."_

"OK I'm going, Caitlin I love you," he whispered to her kissing her hair, "keep her safe," he said to Ronnie once more before preparing to take off running West.

"You can do it," she managed, "now run, Barry _run_."

When Barry arrived in the past he recognised his old street and his old house, things looked peaceful and the house was intact so he had arrived most-likely before Wells. He looked down; his suit had reversed colours in the time vortex, he heard thunder crash and Wells arrived his suit reversed to red rather than yellow. He followed Wells as he broke in and raced around his mother, he had a kitchen knife when Barry saw his younger self arrive. "I'll let you pick, you or your mother." Wells called. Barry wasn't stupid, he knew who he had to save, if he let Wells kill his younger self he wouldn't exist and the timeline would be ultimately screwed so with a last fleeting glance at his mother he veered off, taking a secure hold of young Barry and left the house, depositing him a safe mile away before returning to run into Wells as he followed but Barry was ready.

Wells never saw the punch coming and was knocked out cold; Barry heard his skull hit the ground at incredible force and blood seeped from the wound, catching his breath he felt for a pulse to find it fading. Knowing he couldn't just leave his body lying around in the past Barry gathered what remained of his energy and carried the body out of the city and across the ocean dropping it into international waters with a deep flowing current, knowing the body would never surface and returned to shore.

Barry watched the sun rise from the harbour wall as he ate his 9th burger; he had single-handedly caused a string of crimes he knew would never be solved in order to regain his strength and attempt to return home. Throwing away the wrappers he pulled up his hood, he would probably only get one shot at this and there was no Cisco, Caitlin or Felicity to help him out with the math. Taking a deep breath he took one last look over the wall and began to run.

Cisco finished packing away his inventions into storage and returned to the main area that they had used in STAR Labs. It had been a whole week since Barry chased Dr. Wells through time and knowing it was unlikely for him to ever return decided to call it quits and find another job. He'd cleared out the fridge and waited was waiting for the faucet to start running cold drinking water when it began to separate and defy gravity. He placed the mug down on the side, either Wells or Barry was returning and he had no new memories at an attempt on his life as a child so he had a pretty positive idea who it was. He sprinted towards the main doors which were blown open allowing light to spill in. He saw what appeared to be a flash of lightening and a body was thrown to the ground skidding to a stop, dressed in red. "Barry!" He called out and his friend turned to face him and they hugged tightly. "You're back, what abo-"

"Defeated; permanently." He assured his friend. "Where's Caitlin?" He asked looking around.

"She's at the hospital, Barry after you left them her body started to shut down, no amount of heat Ronnie produced was helping and when the ambulance arrived she was barely there. They put her in a coma to help but they don't know if she'll wake up-" Barry arrived at the hospital asking for Caitlin's room where he was directed to it by a nurse. Ronnie sat in the corner of the room.

"You made it back," he said.

"Yeah, I guess I did, will sh-"

"They don't know, before it happened we talked things through. I heard you both and I want to say congrats, she's lucky to have you."

"I'm the lucky one," he replied sitting at Caitlin's bedside. She looked so peaceful like she was sleeping, her body was covered with a thermal blanket and the heart monitor was beeping at a calming consistent level though her hands felt like ice.

"I know that too, I was once that lucky and I hope that one day I find someone who means to me what she does to you. I loved her Barry but being apart for the two years changed me and I can never be the man I was."

"Are you sticking around or?"

"I'll be around but I'm still not fully stable, this week is the longest I've had the fire thing in check and I don't want to get cocky. Look after her Barry."

"I will; thank you Ronnie." Ronnie nodded, leaving him alone with Caitlin. "Please Caitlin don't leave me now, I love you and I have done for a while, I don't think I can handle losing the two women I love most in the same day," he said holding her hand which he could swear was gripping his tighter.

"You won't," a tired voice croaked and he looked up to see her warm brown eyes staring at him.

"Caitlin."

"Barry," she began coughing as she tried to push herself up.

"Take it easy here, have a drink," he said getting her a drink of water and pressing the _call_ button for the nurse. Her Drs checked her over and declared her survival a miracle before letting Barry back in to see her. This time she was sitting up the thermal blanket still covering her legs.

"How long has it been?"

"For me a night for you a week."

"A week… Is-"

"Wells is taken care of he won't be coming back," he assured her. "How long do you think you'll be in here?"

"I don't know I hope it's not long though it's weird being the patient for once." They laughed and Cisco arrived having received Barry's text that she was awake.

"Caitlin," he grinned relieved and hugged her carefully, "I thought I was gonna be alone for a minute or two there."

"I don't get taken out so easily," she smiled, she explained to them everything that happened after she had left Barry to let his hand heal that day until the nurse told them she needed her rest. Cisco said his goodbye and told Barry he'd wait outside.

"I'll come see you tomorrow; if Joe and Iris let me out of their sight I still haven't been to see them yet."

"You don't have to see me, spend some time with them; they were probably worried out of their minds."

"I'll come see you every day until you get released. Good night Caitlin."

"Good night Barry." After a moment of thought he pressed a kiss to her hair before leaving her to rest.

Soon enough Caitlin was released with instructions to take it easy which was closely followed by her return to STAR Labs which was now in full control of her, Cisco and Barry although Ronnie was always a welcome visitor readily accepting the help to get his powers under control. Once things were back to normal it took a few weeks of secret looks and bad excuses to hang out for him to finally ask her out on a real date. He took her out for dinner then for a walk under the stars in a park and when her heels (which Iris had insisted on) started making walking on grass difficult he lifted her onto a bench and gave her a piggy-back, (she was go glad she had gone with jeans and not a dress) until he sat her on a low branch of a tree, he'd picked this date specifically because he knew what was going to happen when he told her to look up and watch the meteor shower that was scheduled for that night. It was warm for winter and the tree was bare for them to sit back against the trunk and watch the stars fall as he held her tight and secure in his arms loving the look of wonder on her face.

**_A/N -snowbarryshipper: thank you for your request I'm working on it and it should be the next one I upload, :)_**


	3. Valentine's Day Prompt

**Prompt from snowbarryshipper:**

**'Can you do one where Iris convinces Barry to get Caitlin something for Valentines day.' **

**I did try and get it done on Valentine's day but it wasn't finished, but I hope you like it**

**xxx**

Barry Allen walked into STAR Labs racking his brain for the solution to his problem. The problem being the Annual Police Ball to which Iris expected him to bring a date as they couldn't go as friends while she was currently with Eddie. Since she found out about his date with Linda she had been pushing him for details. Details he didn't have because of various reasons, not to mention you can only go on so many dates where you run off to the aid of others thanks to your double life before a girl will get fed up and tell you not to call again.

He decided to ask Cisco, it may not be what Iris had in mind when she suggested he bring a date but at least he'd have someone to talk to while Joe tried his hardest not to shoot Eddie every time his hands got too low as he danced with Iris.

Cisco was taking some readings from the monitors that watched over their not so friendly meta humans in the pipeline when he went over. "Hey Cisco are you busy this weekend? Saturday to be specific?"

"The 15th? Depends what time of day?"

"Well it's the CCPDs annual Valentines Ball and normally me and Iris go at friends but since she's with Eddie she suggested I bring a friend, wondered if you could keep me company?"

"Sorry Barry, I got a date that night, Hartley gets back from his trip Friday so we said we'd spend Valentines on the 15th, well that night anyway, traveling knocks him out. Sorry buddy."

"Don't worry about it." Barry said other then his friends here the only ones he had were 600 miles away in Starling City. Unless… "Hey Caitlin, do you have plans for the 15th?"

"No, why?"

"CCPD Valentine's Ball, Iris insists I bring someone, normally we go a friends but now she has Eddie."

"I don't know Barry-"

"Please, even if just for an hour, I'd rather not be on my own."

"Won't Joe be there?"

"He will, but his focus will be on making sure Eddie is suitable for public viewing with Iris." There was a pause while she gave the matter some thought.

"I guess a couple of hours couldn't hurt, is there a dress code?"

"Black tie but don't worry about it. I gotta get back to work, I'm meant to be on a coffee run, I'll pick you up, Saturday at 9?"

"Sure, sounds fun."

Back at the house Iris and Eddie arrived for dinner that evening, Barry was watching Netflix when they arrived so Joe asked Iris to run up and get him as he probably had his headphones in. She knocked and slowly peeked her head around the door, noticing he was asleep with his laptop running and his headphones in. Smiling she crept over to his sleeping body and sat beside him, shaking him gently awake. "Wake up Barry, dinner's ready."

He slowly came to with a tired groan, there had been three robberies today and the Flash had taken one hell of a beating in stopping all of them and Barry as a result was wiped. "Hey Iris," he yawned rubbing his eyes. "I'll be down in a minute," he said smiling a thank you and pulling out of his headphones. Over dinner they talked about various subjects, both Joe and Eddie avioding eye contact or each other. Iris noticed Barry being quiet.

"Are you OK?" She asked him.

"Huh? Yeah, just really tired, I did find someone to come with on Saturday though," he said, hoping she wouldn't ask him why.

"Oh great, is it Linda?"

"No, fraid not, I think we're officially over, I asked Caitlin, as friends," he clarified.

"Great, I like Caitlin she's nice."

"I know that look, don't even think about it," he warned.

"What?"

"Make those assumptions."

"Come on Barry, you're both single," she winked.

"Not a chance."

"Barry you can't turn up for her on Saturday empty-handed."

"I gotta agree with Iris here Barry," Joe said to him.

"Yeah same Allen," Eddie added.

"OK fine what would you suggest?"

"Flowers," all three of them agreed.

"Fine I'll pick some up on the way," he agreed. "What?" He asked as Iris was giving him another look.

"You can't get just any flowers."

He rolled his eyes, he was still exhausted and this was going to be a long night.

Saturday night Caitlin dried her hair, surveying her options in dresses for the night. She had three of them laid out on her bed, the only three she owned that didn't make her, in her own words 'look like a principle.' They were all black and all of similar length but different textures. The first was the dress her mother had sent her for her engagement party to Ronnie, and she had yet to wear it since the party. The second was the one Ronnie got her for the ball to celebrate the particle accelerator plans going ahead just before he proposed to her. The final one she ruled out immediately as it held too many memories of Ronnie entirely. The dress from their first date. Hastily she put it back in her closet, not ready to or willing to face those memories tonight.

Eventually she decided that the second dress held the least painful memories for her and finished getting ready. She had finished applying light makeup as Barry knocked on her apartment door.

Barry stood outside of her appartment, he could hear her bustling about inside and slowly the door cracked open, Caitlin peering shyly around it before revealing herself to him. His eyes ran up and down her quickly and he stood there, mouth hanging open, panic flashed in her eyes. "Is it too much?" She stammered.

"No, you look beautiful," he said before he could stop himself.

"Thank you."

"I got you this," he stammered producing a single ice blue Lily from behind his back.

"Thank you Barry, it's beautiful," she told him smelling it, Lilies were her favourite flower. "Let me just put this in some water."

"Are you ready?" He asked when she returned.

"Yeah let me grab a-" He used his speed to whoosh past her and have her coat ready for her to shrug into. "Thank you."

"Thank you for coming tonight, you're a good friend Caitlin."

"You're welcome Barry, thanks for asking, it's nice to do something different."

"May I escort you to the Ball Miss Snow?" He grinned offering her his arm.

"You may Mr Allen," she laughed looping her arm through his.

When they arrived at the hotel where the party was being held Barry helped Caitlin out of the cab just as Iris arrived with Eddie and her dad. The girls greeted each other warmly, complementing each other on their dress sense and the five of them headed inside. The ended up on a table with two other officers and their wives and were served a meal before the main floor was cleared for the ball portion of the evening.

As Iris and Caitlin chatted away Eddie took his lead from the older couples on the table and tapped his date lightly on the shoulder, offering her a hand which she took and lead her out onto the dance floor. Barry returned with a glass of wine for Caitlin and a light beer for himself and Joe as they started dancing. "You OK?" He asked Caitlin as she took a sip of her wine.

"Yeah, thanks for inviting me, it's nice to catch up with Iris. She still talks a lot though," she told him and Barry and Joe laughed.

"Yeah she can talk for America can Iris." Her dad chimed in. Joe and Barry started talking about work and Caitlin watched the dance floor. When she next looked around Barry was standing by her side, his hand held out.

"Would you like to dance?" Caitlin's eyes flickered between him and the dance floor where she saw Iris giving her and encouraging nod over Eddie's shoulder.

"I'd like that," she smiled allowing herself to be lead out onto the floor. His hand rested lightly on her waist while the other softly held her hand as they swayed to the music. "So you're fast, you sing and you dance, is there anything you can't do?"

"Be on time?" He joked softly making her chuckle.

As the evening came to a close he helped Caitlin into her coat and said their goodbyes to Iris, Eddie and Joe. Once out of sight he lifted her bridal style and took her home, setting her on her feet outside of her appartment. "I had a really nice time tonight, thank you."

"You're welcome. I had fun too. So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow Barry," she smiled and exchanged a freindly hug. She paused before rising onto her tiptoes and kissing his cheek, leaving him staring as she entered her appartment. "Night Barry."

"Good night Caitlin." He said quietly, his fingers lingering over his tingling cheek with a warm smile gracing his lips.


End file.
